Round 21 of the CRC program invests $187 million to establish five new CRCs.
The CRC Program had its fair share of reviews and assessments into its effectiveness since it it was first announced thirty years ago.
It's not surprising given the significant amount of money, close to $5 billion since 1990, the Government has invested in the program.
Each of the large and long-term (now 7-10 years) CRC projects are endowed with tens, sometimes hundreds of millions dollars, providing them with sufficient resources, time and flexibility to tackle problems relevant to their industry partners.
The concept has stood the test of time, with the most recent review by the Allen Consulting Group concluding that each dollar invested in CRCs returned around three dollars in net economic benefits to the Australian community.
Given the level of scrutiny the program has been under it's not surprising that it evolved somewhat over time, with perhaps the most significant change in 2016, when CRC-Project were introduced to enable smaller industry-research collaborations.
In February, the Australian Government announced a $3 million investment for a new Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for Integrated Energy Solutions at The University of New South Wales.
Funded through the ARC's Industrial Transformation Research Hubs Scheme, the investment compliments other initiatives targeting the rising cost of power, such as the $68 million the government contributes to the new Reliable Affordable Clean Energy for 2030 (RACE) CRC.
While the CRC will look at encouraging a more efficient use of energy in business, and the integration of renewable energies into the grid, the new ARC Research Hub will conduct research into the effective storage of surplus electricity produced from renewable sources.
This includes novel battery technologies - including for extreme environments, structural supercapacitors, innovated fuel cells, and power-to-gas systems - to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles, and battery services for the electricity grid.
With 14 organisations participating the project will potentially draw on a further $8.7 million in additional cash and in-kind contributions.
However, setting up large incorporated CRCs, which often bring together numerous partner organisations from research, industry and other parts of society, remain the program's main scheme.
Currently, there are 23 CRCs up and running, with another five new centres awarded funding in round 21 of the program.
It includes $28 million over seven years for the Building 4.0 CRC, which aims for smart housing solutions and the advanced manufacture of buildings. The vision is to potentially reduce project costs by 30 per cent, carbon emissions by 50 per cent, and construction waste by 80 per cent.
According to Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews, the issue the CRC addresses concern all Australians. “It’s vital we do what we can to make construction more efficient and cost-effective, without reducing quality,” she said.
However, the government's largest new investment of $68 million is for the Reliable Affordable Clean Energy for 2030 CRC (RACE for 2030 CRC). It is tasked to tackle a major impediment to Australian industry competitiveness and productivity. the rising cost of power and its inefficient use.
It's a complex problem, pat of which is that many businesses have been slow in taking up advanced digital and energy technologies to improve energy productivity.
The CRC will also address the challenge of integrating rapidly increasing amounts of renewable power into the grid, as their generation often varies throughout the day and between seasons.
According to Minister Andrews, the CRC's work could potentially reduce energy costs by up to 25 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 million tonnes (CO2 equivalents), and produce an economic benefit of around $8 billion by 2034.
The three other CRCs include: